Electrically operated hair clipping and shaving device



3,072,809 ELECTRICALLY OPERATED HAIR CLIPPING AND SHAVING DEVICE FiledNov. 1, 1955 Jan. 8, 1963 1. JEPSON ETAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS VARJEPEUN an! 5/.GMUND P. KUKULSK/ ATTORNEYS 3,072,809 ELECTRICALLYOPERATED HAIR CLIPPING AND SHAVING DEVICE Filed Nov. 1. 1955 Jan. 8,1963 1. JEPSON ETAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN T0125 IVA? JEPEON 0 BYSIGMUIVD 1e. KUKl/LSK 1 4.2,". 7 M44? ATTORNE Y5 Jan. 8, 1963 1. JEPSONETAL 3,072,809

ELECTRIC-ALLY OPERATED HAIR CLIPPING AND SHA-VING DEVICE Filed Nov. 1,1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS VAR L/EP5UN DJ BY S/GMUND KU/(ULSKI $7M)ATTORNEYS United States Patent ELECTRICALLY OPERATED HAIR CLIPPING ANDSHAVIN G DEVICE Ivar .Iepson, Oak Park, and Sigmund R. Kukulski,Chrcago, Ill., assignors to Sunbeam Corporation, Chicago, IlL, acorporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 1, 1955, Ser. No. 544,212 Claims.(Cl. 310-29) The present invention relates to an electrically operatedhair clipping and shaving device, and, more particularly, to such adevice especially designed for the needs of women.

There has long been a definite need by the ladies for a convenient, fastand safe method of removing leg and underarm hair. Manufacturers havesought to capture this market with various devices, among which areemery mits, chemical depilatories, straight razors, safety razors, and,more recently, adaptations of mens electric shavers. All of thesemethods for removing leg and underarm hair have drawbacks. The varioustypes of blade razors on the market which have been most extensivelyused cause irritation, and there is always the danger of cutting theskin or nicking the shin bone, which is tender and very slow anddifiicult to heal. The depilatories are diflicult and messy to use, andthe emery mit is very unsatisfactory. There have been on the marketelectric shavers which have been referred to as ladies shavers, butthese have been nothing more than dressed up obsolete models of menselectric shavers or adaptations of current models. None of them havebeen scientifically designed for the job and, hence, have beenunsatisfactory.

The problem of removing leg hair and underarm hair is really twofold.The skin on the legs is firm and, therefore, it is possible to shaveclosely without irritation. The skin under the arms is soft and tenderand readily irritated. It would be desirable to provide a hair removingdevice that will do both these necessary jobs, namely, removing leg hairand underarm hair better than has heretofore been possible.

A hair removing device particularly designed for the needs of women mustbe a small device, preferably no larger than an ordinary compact, andobviously it must be sturdily built and foolproof in operation. Itshould preferably be provided with cutting means which are capable ofcutting very closely for removing leg hair, and also with cutting meanswhich will remove underarm hair without irritating the soft and tenderskin of the underarm.

In order for an electric hair removing device to perform efficiently, itis essential that it be provided with a powerful motor for actuating thecutting means. On the other hand, this powerful motor must be capable ofbeing disposed in a very small, flat case if a satisfactory hairremoving device exclusively for the use of women is produced. It wouldbe desirable to provide for such a ladys hair removing device a powerfuland yet compact motor which has long life, will give years oftrouble-free performance, will require no lubrication, and will produceno radio or television interference.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a newand improved hair removing device designed especially for women whichhas the desirable features set forth above.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrichair removing device having improved cutting means capable of cuttingleg hair very close to the skin and at the same time capable of beingused to remove underarm hair without irritation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electricallyoperated hair removing device of a size and shape similar to a ladyscompact.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide performance.

Still another object of the present invention resides in an improvedelectric motor which has no commutator, vibrating contacts or the like,so that no problem of television or radio interference is involved.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedelectric hair removing device in which improved means are provided forpreventing the power cord from becoming disconnected from the device.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electricallyactuated hair removing device especially designed for Women, having areadily removable cutting mechanism which can be cleaned and replaced ina very simple manner.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide in a hairremoving device designed particularly for women a cutting mechanismwhich can only be attached to the motive means in a particular mannerthereby insuring proper use thereof.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds, and the features ofnovelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisspecification.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may behad to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an electrical hair removing deviceembodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the arrangement disclosed in FIG.1, but with a comb guard shown in at tached position;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view similar to FIG. 1, but also showing a combguard as in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2, butwithout the comb guard;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4, assuming thatFIG. 4 shows the complete structure;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 4, again assumingthat FIG. 4 shows FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the combassembly and cutter only of the hair removing device of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the portion of the easing of the hairremoving device of the present invention to which the comb and cutterare adapted to be attached;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the motor of the electric hairremoving device of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a greatly enlarged sectional view taken on line 10-10 of FIG.4, assuming that FIG. 4 shows the complete structure;

, FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the electrichair removing device of the present invention taken along line 11-11 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on line 12-12 of FIG. 11, assumingthat FIG. ll-shows the complete structure; and

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the electric motorillustrating a modification of the present inven-' tion.

Briefly, the present invention is concerned with a ladys electric hairremoving device particularly designed for removing both underarm and leghair, which has a plastic case of pleasing appearance of a shape andconfiguration very similar to that of a ladys compact. A powerful andeflicient resonant motor, having no contacts, brushes or the like, isadapted to be disposed within the casing to actuate a cutter. A comb andcutter assembly is mounted for ready removal from one edge of the casthe complete structure;

ing, and the cutter is adapted to be driven by the electric motor tooscillate at a speed of the order of more than 14,000 cutting strokesper minute. The comb and cutter assembly is provided at one edge withmeans for cutting leg hair and is capable of cutting very close to theskin. On the other edge it is provided with means for removing underarmhair, designed so as not to out too closely, thereby avoiding underarmirritation. The motoris'mounted in the casing in a manner tobesubstantially vibrationfree, and the entire mechanism is'very light inweight, compact in design, capable of giving years of troublefreeperformance.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated an electric hairremoving device, generally designated by the reference numeral 20.Essentially, this electric hair removing device comprises areciprocating cutting blade or cutter 21, operating in coaction with asuitable'comb assembly generally indicated at 22. The comb assembly andcutter are suitably and rernovably mounted'on a casing 23. A powerfulelectric motor, generally designated at 2 4, is housed within the casing23 and drivingly connected to reciprocate the cutter 21 Since theelectric hair removing device 20 has been especially designed to meetthe needs of women, the casing 23'is preferably of a fiat, circularconfiguration, best shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, soas to havea' size and appearance very similar to that of the conventional compact.By conventional compact is meant the generally circular relatively thincontainer commonly used as a compact. In a successful device built inaccordance with the present invention the casing 23 was slightly underthree inches in diameter and of the order of an inch in maximumthickness. As illustrated, the casing 23 is a two-part casing,comprising the cooperating parts 26 and 27, preferably molded from asuitable plastic. It will be appreciated that many moldable plasticmaterials are readily available on the market which provide a smooth anddesirable appearing surface of any color. It will be understood thatsuch an electric hair removing device particularly designed for womenwill have casings of different colors'to fit in with particular colorschemes and the like. Essentially, the two casing sections 26 and 27 arevery similar, although not identical, the interior of each beingessentially a mirror image of the other. In'order to insure that thecasing sections 26 and 27 may be held together in a predeterminedrelationship, the'casing section 26 is provided over a substantialportion of its periphery engageable with the casing section'27' with anannular ledge 26a which cooperates with a similar ledge 27a providedaround a substantial portion of the periphery of the engaging face ofcasing section 27 (seeFIGS. 4, 5, 6and 12). The annularledgc 26a isdisplaced slightly laterally in casing section 26 relative to annularledge 27a, so that when the casing sections are in the position shown inFIGS. and 6, these ledges are side by side and a smooth exterior isprovided at the junctions of the casing sections 26 and 27. To furtherinsure proper orientation of the casing sections, the sec-' tion 27 isprovided with integral pin portions 27b receivable in suitablecooperating openings 28 defined in casing section 26. These are bestshown in FIG. 4 of the drawings. f

In order to hold the casing sections 26 and 27 to gether to form casing23 to house the motor 24 therein, the'casing' section 27 has providedtherein a plurality of threaded inserts such as 29 for threadedlyreceiving suitable fastening means such as 30 to clamp the casingsections together. As best shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings, four screwsor fastening means are provided, two of'them being designated as 30, andthe other two being designated 'as 31. Preferably, the fastening means31 engage threaded inserts which are molded into the casing inawell'known' manner, and which threaded inserts are notshow'n in thedrawings. The fastening means 30, on the other hand, as is best shown inFIG. 6 of the drawings, engage threaded inserts 29 which need not bemolded into the casing, but which may be inserted into openings definedin casing section 27. The threaded inserts 29 are preferably eachprovided With an enlarged head portion, so that it will serveeffectively as a nut threadedly to receive the fastening means 30 toclamp the casing sections together.

To give strength to the casing sections 26 and 27 and to insure that theplastic walls thereof cannot be crushed together, each of the casingsections 26 and 27 is provided with a strut, designated as 26c and 270,respectively, which struts have aligned openings to receive one of thefastening means 30, and the adjacent ends of which struts abut eachother to limit the distortion of the casing when the fastening means 30is threadedly engaged with the threaded insert 29 effectively serving asa nut. Comparaable projections 26d and 27d are provided to abut eachother'on the opposite side of the casing from the struts 26c and27c, oneof the projections, namely, 264 being shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.The projections such as 26d, illustrated as long and slender, areprovided in order to take up a minimum space and to permit the maximumspace within the casing to be available for positioning the motor 24.

To provide a pleasing exterior for the casing 23, the top or bottom orboth of the casing may be provided with 'a suitable metal plate such as32, which may have any type of design thereon including initials, amonogram or the like. As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings,this plate 32 is provided and a peripheral flange 32:: which is disposedin a circular recess defined in the casing section 27 Preferably, aplurality of tabs, not shown, integral with the plate 32 extend throughopenings in the casing section 27 and are peened over to hold the plate32 imposition. As is best shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings, the plate 32,in addition to being a decorative plate, also hides the threaded inserts29, so that a very pleasing casing appearance is provided. Such a platemay also be provided on the outside of the casing section 26, although,as illustrated, a suitable design indicated at 33 is molded directlyinto the plastic of the casing. The screws 30 and 31 are available fromthis side of casing, as is. clearly shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings.

Before considering other specific details of the casing 23 for housingthe motor 24, the details of the motor construction shall first beconsidered. It will be apparent that to provide a proper hair cuttingoperation .a powerful motor is desirable. It is also appreciated thatwith the casing construction illustrated, of the size and shape of acompact, any usable motor will have to be very compact. In accordancewith the present invention, the motor 24 is a very. simple, compactmotor, with no brushes or contacts which could cause radio andtelevision interference. As illustrated, the motor- 24 is a powerfulresonant motor, best shown in FIGS, 4 and 9 of the drawings. This motorcomprises a field structure which is a two-part field structurecomprising somewhat U-shaped laminations 40 held together by suitablerivets such as 41. The. other portion of the field structure comprisessomewhat L-shaped laminations 42 held together by rivets 43. Thelaminations 42 are provided at one end with cooperating notches 44 toreceive tongues 40:; integral with the laminations 40. The fieldstructure is designed in two parts to facilitate assembling thereon afield coil designated as 45. The assembled position of the'fieldstructure and field coil is clearly shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.Preferably, the field coil comprises the conventional spool 46 with thenecessary end portions, between which end portions and on which spoolthe winding 39 is wound in the conventional manner. Thle ends of winding39 define current conductors 39a and 39 sembled relationship, there isprovideda motor field plate 47 and a frame plate 48. The motor fieldplate 47 of somewhat T shape comprises an elongated central member 47awith integral transverse end members 47b and 470, the transverse endmember 47c having a portion 47d extending onrthe opposite side of theportion 47a, as is clearly shown in FIG. 9 of the drawings. The frameplate 48 is more complicated but includes portions corresponding to theabove-described portions of plate 47. The assembled field laminations 40and 42 are clamped between the elements 47 and 48 which have cooperatingopenings for the rivets 41 and 43. In accordance with the presentinvention, these rivets have projections which extend from either sideof the field structure for a purpose which will be described in greaterdetail hereinafter. As illustrated, the projections on the rivets 43 aredesignated as 43a, and the projections on the rivets 41 are designatedas 41a. Suflice it to say that in addition to providing the projections41a and 43a, the rivets hold the field structure including the fieldplate 47 and frame 48 in assembled relationship. Preferably, the members47 and 48 are formed of nonmagnetic material, such as brass, so as notto provide a flux path for the flux in the laminations 40 and 42, which,of course, are formed of magnetic material, such as silicon steel or thelike. The assembled field structure and winding provides an air gapbetween pole faces 49 and 50 which are defined on corresponding portionsof the field laminations 40 and 42. The plates 47 and 48 insure that theair gap between the pole faces 49 and 50 is properly maintained.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided an armature52 which is formed of a plurality of laminations 53 held in assembledrelationship by rivets 54. To support the armature 52 for pivotalmovement, there is provided a bell crank 55, one arm of which ispreferably disposed at the center of the armature between two equalsections of laminations 53. The rivets 54 hold the laminations 53 andbell crank 55 in assembled relationship. To provide .a driving memberfor transmitting power to a suitable driven member, the bell crank 55 isprovided with an arm or projection 550 through which power from themotor 24 is transmitted to any suitable means to be driven thereby. Itwill be appreciated that the armature 52 is designed to move within theair gap between pole faces 49 and 50, and to this end is provided withcooperating pole faces 52a and 5211. For the purpose of supporting thearmature 52 for movement between the pole faces 49 and 50, the bellcrank 55 is pivotally supported about a pivot point located outside thefield structure. As illustrated, the bell crank 55 is secured to asuitable bushing 58 having a suitable bearing therein, designated as 59,which may be a porous bronze hearing or the like. The bell crank 55 andassociated bushing 58 and bearing 59 are pivoted about a suitable shaftsuch as 60 extending between the frame members 47 and 48. Asillustrated, the shaft 60 extends between the projection 47d of frame 47and a corresponding projection on frame 48. Openings 61 and 62 in framemembers 47 and 48 accommodate the shaft 60. With this arrangement, thearmature 52 is caused to describe an arcuate path about the pivot memberor shaft 69, and by virtue of the bearing 59 this movement isconstrained to insure arcuate movement of the armature 52 within a fixedpath.

The armature 52 is substantially L-shaped, with the base of the L beingthe end portion 52b which is disposed nearest the pivot shaft 60. Thelongitudinal axis of said armature extends through the long arm of the Land generally perpendicular to the base thereof, and

is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the air gap defined bya line extending between pole faces 49 and 59. It will be apparent thatthe base of the L thus provides a greater cross-sectional area for theend of the armature closest the pivot pin which moves through a smallerarc than does the end 52a thereof. In order to provide a normal or restposition for the armature 52,

there are provided a pair of armature springs 64 and 65 which normallytend to bias the armature to the predetermined position shown in FIG. 4of the drawings, so that the armature is disposed almost outside the gapbetween pole faces 49 and 50. Upon energization of the winding 45, itwill be apparent that the armature 52 will be attracted to tend to movein a direction to cause the pole faces 52a and 49 to be in substantialalignment, and similarly to cause the pole faces 52b and to be insubstantial alignment. In the normal or at rest position of thearmature, as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings, the end 52b is partiallyin registry with the pole face 50 so as to provide a flux path with asufiiciently low initial reluctance to insure that the armature 52 bepulled into the air gap when current is supplied to winding 39. It willbe appreciated that with this construction the reluctance of the fluxpath at the end 52b of the armature is reduced thus insuring a higherflux density in the air gap adjacent pole face 49. This higher fluxdensity produces a greater force at that end 52a of armature 52 whichhas the maximum moment arm about the pivot pin 60. Thus this greaterforce insures a greater torque causing pivotal movement of armature 52.This more than offsets any decrease in force by virtue of the decreasein reluctance of the flux path at the end 52b of armature 52 To providethe most compact motor it is apparent that the armature 52 must have aminimum dimension in the direction of the longitudinal axes of thesprings 64 and 65, since these springs must have aminimum length forsatisfactory operation. However, the armature 52 should have apredetermined mass and moreover its area of cross-section should be suchto provide a low reluctance path. To this end the armature 52, as bestshown in FIGS. 6 and 9 of the drawings, is relatively wide andsubstantially wider than the thickness of the field structure. Thus alow reluctance path is provided even while maintaining the dimension ofthe armature in the direction of the longitudinal axes of the springs 64and 65 very small.

In order to support the springs 64 and 65 in a manner to hold thearmature in its neutral position and tend to return it to that position,the portion of hell crank clamped between laminations 53 definingarmature 52 is provided on either side thereof with projections 55a.

and 55b to support spring retaining cups 67 and 68, respectively. Thesespring retaining cups are secured to the projections 55a and 55b bystaking or the like, so that the cup will hold the adjacent ends of thesprings 64 and 65, respectively. To support the other ends of thesprings, the frame 48 is provided with a pair of cars 48a and 48b,respectively, which project laterally from the frame proper so as to bedisposed on either side of the cups 67 and 68, respectively. Theseprojections 48a and 48b are provided with integral cylindrical bosses7t) and 71 to be received within the coiled springs 64 and 65,respectively. For the sake of rigidity, the frame 48 preferably isprovided with a peripheral flange 48c which includes as an enlargementthereofthe projection 48a. It will be apparent that the frame 48effectively performs a threefold operation: it acts as the motor frame,it provides a pivot support for the armature 52, and it also provides asupport for the springs 64 and 65. Pref era bly, the springs 64 and areprecision coil springs accurately calibrated to be resonant at afrequency slight ly separated from the frequency of the energizationcircuit for the winding 39. Where the power source is a sixty-cyclealternating current source and the motor Operates at double frequency,the springs 64 and 65 are preferably calibrated at just about sixtycycles or a harmonic thereof. Obviously, if they were resonant exactlyat sixty cycles, one hundred twenty cycles or the like, the amplitude ofthe armature might be too great. On the other hand, if they were tunedto resonance too far away from sixty cycles, one hundred twenty cyclesor the like, too much power would be lost. In a device built inaccordance with the present invention, the springs 64 and 65 were tunedto resonance between sixty-three cycles and sixty-seven cycles. As waspointed out above, the armature 52 is illustrated in the drawings asbeing Wider than the field structure, to provide the maximum weight ofthe armature in a small size motor while permitting the maximum lengthof the springs 64 and 65. More over, for most satisfactory operation ofthe motor 24, it is desirable to provide an arrangement whereby themaximum rate of change of flux occurs upon armature movement. Bypivoting the armature 52 from a point outside the field structure, withthe armature moving radially into the air gap in the field structure,this is accomplished.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9 of the drawings, the ends 3941 and 39b of thewinding 39 of coil 45 are connected to suitable terminal pins 72 and 73,which are adapted to cooperate with a more or less conventional femaletype terminal plug described hereinafter. To hold the terminal pins 72and 73 in spaced parallel alignment, a suitable terminal board 74,formed of an insulated material such as a laminated phenolic, isprovided, the terminal pins 72 and 73 being suitably secured thereto andelectrically connected to the ends 39a and 3%, respectively, of thewinding 39 defining the coil 45 in a manner well understood by thoseskilled in the art.

It will be apparent from the above description that the motor 24 is aunitary assembly which is very small and very compact. Upon energizationof the field coil 45 with alternating current, the armature 52 will beattracted into the air gap as the alternating flux produced therebybuilds up toward the positive or negative peak. As this alternating fluxgoes through zero, the magnetic forces acting on armature 52 also gothrough zero and the springs 64 and 65 tend to return the armature toits normal or zero position. During the other half cycle of thealternating current flux the process will be repeated. It will 'beapparent, therefore, that the oscillations of the armature 52 will betwice the frequency of the alternating current supplied to winding 39,and as long as power is supplied to winding 39, the armature 52 willoscillate about pivot shaft 60 at double the frequency of the supplyvoltage. Moreover, this moior will produce no clattering noise or thelike, which is the case with vibrating type motors, as the armaturemoves against the field structure, since it is impossible for thearmature 52 to make physical contact with any part of the fieldstructure, the springs 64 and 65 effectively suspending the armature foroscillation about pivot shaft 60. Thus, even excessive movement of thearmature 52 will cause no engagement with the field structure whatever.It will be appreciated that with a sixty-cycle power source, thearmature will have a one hundred twenty cycle frequency, which means14,400 strokes per minute to be transmitted to the movable cutterdescribed hereinafter by the arm 550 of hell crank 55.

In accordance with the present invention, the projections 41a and 43a ofthe rivets 41 and 43, respectively, of motor 24 are used to position andsecure the motor 24 within the casing 23. To this end each casingsection 26 and 27 is provided with four recesses, only two of which areshown for each casing section in FIG. of the drawings. These recessesare designated by the reference numeral 74 for the casing section 26,and 75 for the casing section 27. Supported within each recess 74 and 75is a rubber mounting member 76, eight of them being provided in all.Theserub'ber mounting members have a central opening adapted to receivethe projections 41a and 43a of the rivets 41 and 43, respectively. Thus,when the motor 24 is disposed within the casing 26, it is suitablysupported in rubber. mountings, whereby the transmission of vibrationsfrom the motor to the casing is substantially reduced. The recesses 74,and 75 are so disposed that the driving arm 550 of the bell crank 55,whose, other arm supports the armature 52, is on one side of the casing23, and diametrically opposed are the terminal pins 72 and 73.

In order to accommodate one of the fastening means 3%, the motor, andspecifically the laminations 40 and the frame portions 47 and 48 areprovided with aligned openings to define a passageway 78 through whichthis fastening means may extend. However, the fastening means 30 passingthrough these aligned openings does not hold the motor 24 in positionother than indirectly by clamping the casing sections together.Preferably, the passageway 78 is of larger diameter than the fasteningmeans 30 so that vibrations of the motor 24 are not transmitted directlyto the casing 23 through the fastening means 30. The only reason thefastening means 30' passes through the field structure is a matter ofconvenience, since the motor takes up such a large portion of the casing23 that it is difiicult to include therein a fastening means which doesnot pass through some portion of the motor. The motor itself ismaintained in position solely by the projections of the rivets 41 and 43and the rubber mounting members 76 disposed in the recesses 74 and 75.With the motor in position in one of the casing halves such as 26 or 27,the other casing section can then be moved into position in a verysimple manner and the fastening means 30 and 31 employed to clamp thecasing sections together thereby firmly to support in vibration-freemanner the motor 24 within the casing 23. It will be appreciated thatthe rubber mountings 74 and 75 will also prevent the excessivetightening of the fastening means 30 and 31. With the above describedarrangement the motor 24 is readily removable for service and repair.

In order to support the comb assembly 22 and associated cutter 21, thecasing 23, which has been described as a generally circular, flatcasing, much on the order of a conventional ladys compact, is providedat the edge thereof, and specifically at the edge defined by thejunction of the two casing sections 26 and 27, with an integralprojection which might be. designated as the cutting head section of thecasing. As illustrated, the casing section 26 is provided at the edgethereof over a small portion of the periphery with a projection 26] andtwo transverse projections 26g disposed at the end of projection 26Similarly, the casing section 27 is provided with a projection 27 andtwo transverse projections 27g disposed at the end of projection 27These projections, when the casing is assembled, define therebetween arecess 80, best shown in FIG. 8 of the drawlugs, for receiving the combassembly 22 and cutter 21 in a manner to be described hereinafter. Thecasing sections 26 and 27 are designed so that when assembled theydefine the recess 80. The bottom of this recess, as viewed in FIG. 8 ofthe drawings, is defined by casing walls to provide a substantiallyclosed casing. Moreover, when the cutter 21 and comb assembly 22 aredisposed in recess 80, the portion of the comb assembly defining theskin engaging portion is preferably substantially level with the ends ofthe projections 26g and 27g, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 10 of thedrawings. For a purpose which will become apparent from the followingdescription the walls of recess are provided with spaced ribs 81defining grooves therebetween.

In order that the actuating arm 550 of hell crank 55 oscillated by thearmature 52 may project into recess.

80, an opening 83 is defined in cooperating wall sections of the casingforming the substantially closed bottom of recess 80 through which thearm 550 may extend. To prevent hair, hair clippings and foreign matterfrom entering the opening 83, and hence from entering the motor chamberwithin casing 23, there is provided a resilient sealing member 84, whichmay be in the form of a sponge rubberlike member which has an openingthrough which the actuating arm 550 of hell crank 55 extends. The spongesealing member 84 fits tightly around the actuating arm 550 to insure asealing action.

- 9 and at the same time effectively closes the opening 83 withoutinterfering with oscillating movement of actuating arm 550.

It will be appreciated that in any cutting device where a reciprocatingcutter moves relative to a comb to perform a hair shearing or cuttingoperation, means must be provided to bias the cutter into shearingengagement with the comb. In accordance with the present invention,coiled springs 85 are provided for this purpose. These springspreferably have an enlarged turn or two at one end thereof, designatedin the drawings as 8511 (see FIG. These springs are arranged to becontained in openings 87 defined in the cooperating portions of thecasing sections 26 and 27 immediately below recess 80, which abut eachother when the casing sections are clamped together as clearly shown inthe drawings. These recesses 87 are effectively undercut (see FIG. 10)so that when the springs 85 are inserted therein during the time whenthe casing sections are clamped together, the enlarged turns 85a preventtheir subsequent removal. Thus, the springs 85 project into the recess80 for ready engagement with the cutter to be described hereinafter andare held in the operative position shown in FIGS. 4 and 10 of thedrawings by the shape of the walls defining recesses 87.

The comb assembly 22, which cooperates with casing 23 to define acutting head, is illustrated as a two-part member including a U-shapedsupport 88 and a comb portion 89, the latter being preferably made ofsheet metal and having a hollow mushroom-shaped head providing agenerally rectangular, arcuate face for contacting the skin from whichthe hair is to be removed. For the purpose of providing strength andrigidity in the arcuate portion of the mushroom-shaped cutter 89, thereis provided a central rib 89a which, as is best shown in FIG. 10 of thedrawings, is a channel-shaped deformation formed at the center of thearcuate portion. Essentially, the mushroom-shaped comb portion 89 of thecomb assembly 22 includes, in addition to the arcuate section thereofhaving the central rib 89a, a pair of converging side portions 8% whichconnect spaced parallel portions 890 to the arcuate portion. Theconverging portions 8912 are provided with a plurality of openings 95along the length thereof, which are effectively hair escape openingsthrough which hair clippings may fall. As is clearly evident from FIG.10 of the drawings, the upwardly directed ends of the U-shaped support88 extend to a point adjacent the bottom of the cutter 21 and serve todeflect clipped hair out through the openings 95, hence effectivelypreventing such hair from entering the inner portions of the comb andcutter assembly. Preferably, both the comb portion 89 and the U-shapedsupport 88 have a length of the order of the spacing between theprojections 26g and 27g. The U-shaped support 88 has a width so as to bedisposed between the spaced parallel portions 890 of the comb 89 and isprovided along each side thereof with outwardly directed hollowprojections 88a by means of which the mushroom-shaped comb portion 89 ofthe cutting head may be secured thereto. As illustrated, the portions890 are provided with a plurality of aligned openings on either side forreceiving the projections 88a, which projections may then be deformed asshown in FIGS. 7 and 10 of the drawings effectively to secure theU-shaped support 88 to the comb portion 89. Actually, the U-shapedsupport 88 may be formed from a relatively heavy material to provide astrong support. Moreover, this U-shaped portion 88 of the comb assemblyis de signed to fit snugly withinrecess 80. The rivet portions 88a areaccommodated within the spaced grooves defined between the ribs 81.

In order that the springs 85 may properly engage the cutter 21 wheneverthe comb and cutter assembly is attached in operative relationship tocasing 23, the bight portion of the U-shaped support 88 is provided witha gara es pair of relatively large openings through which springs 85 mayextend without interference. Also, the bight portion of the U-shapedsupport 88 is provided with a central elongated opening 91 to permit theactuating arm 550 of the bell crank 55 to move freely and withoutinterference when in driving engagement with the cutter, as will bedescribed in greater detail hereinafter. For purposes which will becomeapparent from the following description, the mushroom-shaped combportion 89 is formed of relatively thin spring steel material,preferably having a thickness of the order of tWelve-thousandths of aninch or preferably between tenand fifteen-thousandths of an inch. Inorder to prevent underarm irritation, it is essential that the hairremoving operation does not, result in cutting too closely, and therange of thickness set forth above is necessary, as will become apparentfrom the following description, to avoid cutting too closely.

In accordance with the present invention, the comb portion 89 isprovided with two sets of teeth, one along either edge of the arcuateportion, which teeth are designated as 97 and 98, respectively. Theseteeth are formed by providing a plurality of slots along each edge ofthe comb through both the arcuate portion and the diverging portionsthereof, which, by virtue of the mushroom shape, are closely adjacent,as is clearly evident from FIG. 10 of the drawings. If the thickness ofthe spring steel material from which the comb portion 89 is made is ofthe order of twelve-thousandths of an inch, the teeth 98 will insurethat no closer cutting than twelve-thousandths of an inch will occur.Thus, the teeth 98 effectively provide the teeth for cutting underarmhair. In order that the teeth 97 may insure much closer cutting forremoving leg hair, the top edge of the arcuate portion of comb 89 alongthe teeth 97 is ground very thin, as indicated at 97a in FIG. 10 of thedrawings, so that the stock thickness of these teeth 97 may be muchthinner than twelve-thousandths of an inch to provide close cutting forthe removal of leg hair. In a hair removing device built in accordancewith the present invention, the edge of the arcuate comb portionadjacent teeth 97 was ground to a thickness of the order offive-thousandths of an inch and preferably between threeandseven-thousandths.

For the purpose of providing the desired shearing action with combportion 89, the cutter 2.1, also formed of spring steel or suitablematerial which will insure good cutting action, is provided with acentral U-shaped channel portion 21a slightly larger than the rib 89a sothe latter may be partially nested therein, and a pair of laterallyextending flange portions Zlb, each of which terminates in cutting teeth99. The rib 89a serves as a guide for the reciprocating cutter 21 withinwhich the rib 89a is nested. Preferably a loose fit between the channelportion 21a and rib 89a is provided so that even and distributed wearwill occur between the comb and cutter teeth. The cutting teeth 99 areadapted to be disposed immediately beneath the cutting teeth 97 and 98,as is clearly shown in FIG. 10 of the drawings. Preferably, the cutteris ground on a cylindrical radius slightly larger than the radius of thecomb at the teeth portions 97 and 98 thereof, so that the cutter willlap into the comb with use thereof to insure very good shearing action.

In order to drive the cutter from arm 550 or bell crank 55, an opening100 is preferably defined at the center of the bight portion of section21a of cutter 21. Preferably also, a distortion 101 of the bight portion21a is provided on either side of this opening to insure engagement withthe actuating arm 550 which is adapted to extend into the opening 100,as is clearly shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings. Also to insure properengagement of the springs 85 with the cutter, the bight portion of theU-shaped section 21a thereof is provided with a plurality of dimples102, which are adapted to be received into the upper ends of the springs85, as is clearly shown in FIG. 10 of the drawings. Thus, when the comband cutter assembly is moved into, the position shown. in FIG. of thedrawings, the actuating arm 55c moves into driving engagement with thecutter 21, and the springs 85 move into engagement with'the U-shapedportion 21a of the cutter 21, the dimples 102 insuring properpositioning of the springs 85 relative to the cutter 21. It will beapparent that there has been provided a cutting head which has twocutting edges, one edge for underarm hair which is adapted not to outtoo close, and another edge for leg hair which is capable of cuttingvery closely.

It will be appreciated that, since the cutter 21 is lapped into thecomb, it is important that the cutter is always assembled with the combin the same predetermined manner, otherwise the lapping operation willbe of little value. Accordingly, the comb and cutter are preferablyprovided with means to insure assembly in the same manner. In anembodiment built in accordance with the present invention, one side ofthe cutter and the corresponding side of the comb were painted orotherwise coated with the same unique color, so that in assembling thesame the operator could readily make sure that the corresponding colorswere on adjacent sides. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 7 of thedrawings, the corresponding ends of the comb assembly 22 and cutter 21may be provided with distinctive notches, such as indicated at 103 and104, respectively. These notches should always be at corresponding endswhen the cutting head is assembled. It will be appreciated that anysuitable means for making it easy for the operator to assemble thecutter and comb assembly in the proper manner may be provided.

So that the operator may readily know which side of the cutting head isuseful for cutting leg hair and which side is useful for cuttingunderarm hair, the casing is preferably provided with suitable indicia.As illustrated in the drawings, there are provided on one side of theeasing the words For Legs, and on the other side of the casing the wordsFor Underarms. Obviously, this indicia will have no meaning unless thecomb and cutter assembly is applied to the casing in a predeterminedmanner. To this end the casing 23 and comb assembly 22 are designed sothat the comb assembly cannot be attached to the casing in operativerelation therewith unless it is attached thereto with the correctorientation. Preferably,

to facilitate the proper assembly without the trial and error method,the casing is provided on the side thereof adjacent which the colored ordistinctive sides of the comb assembly and cutter should be positionedwith a suitable indicia, such as the dot 106 indicated in FIG. 3 of thedrawings. This ldot may be a colored dot corresponding to the color usedon the cutter and comb assembly. However, to insure against improperassembly should the operator ignore the indicia, there are provided onone side of recess 80' and adjacent each end thereof the projections108, only one of which is visible in FIG. 8 of the drawings. However,these projections 108 cooperate with cut-away sections or rabbetedportions indicated at 109 (see FIG. 7 of the drawings) at each end ofthe U--shaped support 88. Thus, the comb and cutter assembly can only beattached in operative relationship with the casing and motor in onepredetermined manner, thus positively insuring correct orientationthereof. Preferably, a pair of shoulders similar to the projections 108are provided on the casing section 27 so as to space the comb portion 89from the transverse projections 26g and 27g thereby to prevent thepinching and pulling of hairs into the spaces between the ends of thecomb portion and the transverse projections.

For the purpose of protecting the cutting head, and particularly thecomb which is exposed, there is preferably provided a suitable combguard 110, shown only in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, which comb guardmay be formed of a suitable plastic and which may be slipped over thehead. Preferably, the comb guard 110 is of somewhat channel or U -shapedconstruction so that it 12?. may he slipped over the cutting head andthe legs of the U thereof will grip the casing 23 sufliciently to holdthe comb guard in position. The particular construction of the combguard forms no part of the present invention and any other suitablemeans for this purpose may be employed.

In order to hold the comb and cutter assembly in assembled positionwithin the recess 80, there are provided a pair of spring clips 111.These spring clips 111 are preferably L-shaped, as best shown in FIG. 4of the drawings. The short leg of the L is arranged to be disposed incooperating notches defined in casing sections 26 and 27, so that thelong arm of the L-shaped clips 111 extends substantially verticallyalong the ends of the recess 80. The upper end of the long arm of the L-shaped members 111 is provided with a laterally extending flangeextending against the wall of the recess and effectively fitting intocooperating recesses or notches 112 defined in the end casing sections26g and 27g. Thus, the midpoint of the long arm of the L-shaped members111 can be distorted into the notches 112. To provide suitable latchingmeans, the intermediate portion of each of the long arms of the L-shapedmember 111 is provided with a protuberance 111a, extending into therecess 80, which protuberances are adapted to engage the ends of thebight portion of the U-shaped support member 88, as is clearly shown inFIG. 4 of the drawings, thus hold.- ing the comb and cutter assembly inattached relationship with the casing 23 and with the cutter in drivingengagement with the arm 55c of the bell crank 55. The spring clips 111are resilient enough so that they will be distorted when the comb andcutter assembly is pushed into recess 80, and, conversely, the comb andcutter assembly may readily be removed by applying a small pulling forceto the mushroom-shaped comb portion which will cause the latchingportions 111a to release the comb and cutter assembly.

To accommodate the terminals 72 and 73, one section of the casing 23 ispreferably provided with means to firmly support the insulating plate orterminal board 74. To this end, and as best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and11 of the drawings, the casing section 26 is provided with. an integralprotuberance 2611 within which isdefined a recess 113, efiectivelyproviding a cord receptacle. The walls defining the recess 113 arefurthermore provided with diametrically opposed notches 114 and 115 toreceive therein the terminal board 74 and hold the same in apredetermined position with the terminal pins extending into the recess113 and readily accessible with a more or less conventional plugconnector of an associated power cord. To insure that the terminal board74 will be held within the notches 114 and 115, the casing section 27,as is best shown in FIG. 12 of the drawings, is provided with aplurality of projections 2711 which are positioned so as to engage theadjacent edge of the terminal board 74 when the casing is assembled.

A suitable power cord 116 is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 11 of thedrawings. This power cord'is pro:

vided with a plug connector 117 insertable within the recess 113. Tomake sure that the plug connector 117 does not accidentally becomedisconnected from the ter minal pins 72 and 73, the plug connector ispreferably provided on the end insertable into recess 113 with anenlargement 117a which is adapted to move above a rib 26k defined inrecess 113, which rib 26 k is best shown in FIGS. 4 and ll of thedrawings. The plug connector 117 is preferably formed of a somewhatresilient insulating material, so that upon insertion into recess 113 itwill distort enough to permit the enlargement or projection 117a to moveabove rib 26k thereby retaining the plug connector 117 againstinadvertent removal.

In view of the detailed description included above, the operation of thecutting device designed especially for the removal of both leg hair andunderarm hair will readily be understood by those skilled in the art.One

side of the cutting head will cut no closer than the thickness of thecomb stock employed, so that underarm irritation will not occur. On theother hand, the other side of the cutter head will cut much closer andis very satisfactory for removing leg hair. The comb and cutter arereadily detachable from the casing, so that excess hair can be blownout. Moreover, means are provided to in-v sure that improper positioningthereof cannot occur. Also, simple means are provided to insure theproper assembly of the cutter head and attachment thereof to the casing23. A powerful motor is provided which is resiliently mounted in thecasing and which has no parts that can move against each other toprovide a loud noise.

The vibration of the motor is relatively small, and what vibration ispresent is prevented from being transmitted to the casing by theresilient mounting means provided. If desired, however, a modificationshown in FIG. 13 of the drawings may be employed, where a fragmentaryportion of the motor 24 is illustrated. As there illustrated, there isemployed a counterweight 120 which is attached to the motor frame by anL-shaped spring arm 121. This counterweight will vibrate in oppositionto the vibration produced by movement of the armature thereby reducingstill further any vibrations produced by the motor 24. The weight 120 isshaped so that it will readily fit within the casing 23. As illustrated,the L-shaped arm is riveted to an L-shaped bracket 122, which bracket issecured to the field structure of the motor 24 by screws 123. Thecounterweight 120 and the spring arm 121 are so selected that thecomposite counterweight structure has a natural frequency of vibrationsubstantially equal to twice the frequency of alternation of theenergizing current for the shaver which for one particular type ofshaver is sixty cycles per second. As will be clear to those skilled inthe art, the counterweight 120 thus vibrates one hundred eighty degreesout of phase with the remaining vibrating structure thereby to minimizethe over-all vibration of the shaver 20.

While there have been illustrated and described a particular embodimentof an electric hair removing device especially designed for the use ofwomen and a modification thereof, it will be appreciated that numerouschanges and modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in theart, and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all thosechanges and modifications that fall within the true spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. For use in a hair removing device having hair cutting means, analternating current motor for actuating said hair cutting meanscomprising a U-shaped magnetic structure including a pair of spaced polefaces defining an air gap therebetween, means for establishing analternating current magnetic field across said air gap, an armaturedimensioned to fit into said air gap with the longitudinal axis of saidarmature being generally parallel to a line extending between said polefaces, a bell crank pivoted about a pivotal axis disposed completelyoutside said magnetic structure, and means for bodily supporting saidarmature from one arm of said bell crank in a manner to cause saidarmature to move bodily into and out of the space between said polefaces.

2. The alternating current motor of claim 1 wherein said pivotal axis isat all times more remote from one end of said armature than from theother end.

3. The alternating current motor of claim 1 wherein said armature isformed of L-shaped larninat-ions.

4. The alternating current motor of claim 1 in which said armature ispivoted about an axis closer to one end than the other end of said airgap and said armature is substantially L-shaped.

5. An electric hair removal device comprising a small flat circularhousing defining a shallow cylindrical space 14 therein, a reciprocatingcutting assembly mounted on said housing along a portion of theperipheral edge thereof, an electric motor in said housing having agenerally rectangular field structure comprising spaced apart pole facesdefining an air gap therebetween, an armature bodily movable into andout of the space between said pole faces, said rectangular fieldstructure being disposed in said cylindrical space with the cornersthereof adjacent the peripnery of said space, a bell crank pivotallymounted about a pivotal axis disposed completely outside said magneticstructure adjacent the periphery of said cylindrical space and far toone side of a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said airgap at the midpoint of said longitudinal axis, said armature beingrigidly secured to one arm of said bell crank, said arm being mountedfor oscillation in the principal plane of said housing and connected todrive said cutting assembly.

6. A resonant type electric motor comprising a relatively fiat metallicsupport frame, a magnetic field structure including spaced pole facessecured to said frame with the principal planes of said frame and saidfield structure being parallel, an armature pivotally mounted on oneside of said frame completely outside the boundaries of said magneticstructure including said armature for movement in a path through an airgap defined between said pole faces, upstanding flanges integral withsaid frame, and a pair of springs respectively interposed betweenopposite sides of said armature and said flanges.

7. A resonant type electric motor comprising a magnetic field structureof generally C-shape, terminating in spaced opposed pole faces definingthe opening in the C, an armature mounted for movement into and out ofthe space between said pole faces, a pair of opposed springs disposedone on either side of said armature for urging said armature to a normalor at rest position, said armature having a minimum thickness in thedirection of movement thereof but being substantially wider in the otherdirection than the corresponding dimension of the associated fieldstructure.

8. In a hair removing device, a vibrating motor consisting of a C-shapedfield structure made in two sections, a bell crank, an armature rigidlysecured to one arm of said bell crank and mounted to vibrate between thetwo sections, and tuned springs mounted to cooperate with said armature,an insulating spool to carry an electric winding, means for interlockingsaid field sections after they have been assembled through such spool,non-magnetic mounting plates on each side of said field sections andmeans for accurately locating and interlocking said field sections andsaid non-magnetic plates to form a rigid assembly, said non-magneticplates having extensions beyond said field sections to serve as apivoting support for said bell crank, and said plates having otherextensions to locate and hold said tuned springs in relation to saidarmature.

9. In a hair removing device, a small thin circular housing which canreadily be held in the hand of a user and defining a shallow cylindricalspace therein, a cutting assembly mounted on said housing along oneportion of the peripheral edge thereof, said assembly including amovable cutting member, an alternating current motor dis-posed withinsaid housing and substantially filling said shallow cylindrical space,said motor comprising a U-shaped magnetic structure having spaced polefaces defining an air gap therebetween, means for establishing analternating current magnetic field across said air gap, an armaturedimensioned to fit into said air gap between said pole faces, a bellcrank pivoted about an axis disposed completely outside said magneticfield and adjacent the periphery of said cylindrical space, meansrigidly supporting said armature from one arm of said bell crank in amanner so that said armature moves bodily into and out of the spacebetween said pole faces upon pivotal movement of said :bell crank aboutsaid axis, and means for operatively connecting said bell crank and saidcutting space.

10. The hair removing device of claim 9 wherein said assembly includes aslotted comb and a reciprocating cutting member having a row of teeth oneither side thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Blacket a1. Feb. 23, 1926 Hahnernann Aug. 25, 1931 Johnson Nov. 14, 1933Murphy 2 Feb. 7, 1939 Knopp Apr. 15, 1941 Steinbach Nov. 4, 1941Dalkowitz 2 Nov. 11, Hanley July 21, Law July 21, Jepson Oct. 27, MartinJune 20, Clark et al Jan. 23, Bertea Nov. 9, J epson Nov, 14, Koch July15, Jepson Mar. 1, Schreyer Feb. 14, Collura May 1, Braum Oct. 20,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Oct. 22, Switzerland Nov. 1,

Great Britain .2. -2- Mar. 26,

1. FOR USE IN A HAIR REMOVING DEVICE HAVING HAIR CUTTING MEANS, ANALTERNATING CURRENT MOTOR FOR ACTUATING SAID HAIR CUTTING MEANSCOMPRISING A U-SHAPED MAGNETIC STRUCTURE INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPACED POLEFACES DEFINING AN AIR GAP THEREBETWEEN, MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING ANALTERNATING CURRENT MAGNETIC FIELD ACROSS SAID AIR GAP, AN ARMATUREDIMENSIONED TO FIT INTO SAID AIR GAP WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAIDARMATURE BEING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO A LINE EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID POLEFACES, A BELL CRANK PIVOTED ABOUT A PIVOTAL AXIS DISPOSED COMPLETELYOUTSIDE SAID MAGNETIC STRUCTURE, AND MEANS FOR BODILY SUPPORTING SAIDARMATURE FROM ONE ARM OF SAID BELL CRANK IN A MANNER TO CAUSE SAIDARMATURE TO MOVE BODILY INTO AND OUT OF THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID POLEFACES.